Apple branded TV rumored to land 2012 with iPhone 5?

We recently told you about the possibility that Apple could be about to upgrade its little hobby Apple TV after the current model saw some discounts. But there has been a lot of talk recently that the company were set to enter the actual TV market with units of its own. Now we can tell you that an Apple branded TV is rumored to land in 2012 along with the iPhone 5.

It is being claimed that production of such a set will begin as early as February at a plant owned by Sharp in Japan. According to AppleInsider rival companies are desperately trying to find out what Apple is planning to do in the market.

Peter Misek an analyst at Jefferies stated to investors that Apple was to partner Sharp for production of the TFT-LCD panels. With production starting so early in the year it is thought the TV will be launched around mid-2012.

Rival manufacturers will be desperate not to be caught out by Apple, but Misek feels that they will still be at least six to twelve months behind at best. These companies are said to be looking towards Android as a possible way to counter whatever Apple brings to the market. It will be a similar set up to the smartphone market with Google providing the software and the manufacturers the hardware.

We have reported before that Apple could release a TV set with its Siri assistant software installed, which will allow a controller free navigation of the TV. This could see a similar situation we reported about earlier after we told you that Microsoft was rumored to be looking to integrate its Kinect technology into TVs.